Galapagos-Day 2

As has been the theme of the trip, we woke early and breakfasted at around 7 am. I should note that by now we'd determined Peruvian coffee was supremely better than Ecuadorian.

After breakfast we both fell asleep again hard, for nearly a 3 hour nap. Hey, it was vacation and we put this leg of the journey last for a reason!

After waking and shaking off the grogginess, we decided to check out another area to see the famous tortoises, at the Charles Darwin Nature Center. A 15 minute walk led us there, and the trip was made. These beasts were like nothing I'd ever seen-dinosauresque with a face like Voldemort. It was mind boggling to behold. We walked among the various areas where researchers are successfully breeding various species from the different islands, to then release back into the wild. The preserve also played host to several types of iguanas and until recently, Lonesome George.

Pictures don't do it justice-these things are huge!

On our way back, we checked out a local cemetery and stopped for lunch and split the special- a fresh fish ceviche, soup, popcorn (south Americans love their popcorn) and dessert. This was our BEST meal so far in Ecuador. The ceviche was perfectly limey and fresh, and Scott declared the soups broth the best he'd ever had. And the entire meal with a large beer was only $8.

Above ground graves-you can't dig into volcanic rock.

South Americans really love popcorn as a side.

 We returned to the hotel to rest and read (finishing Game of Thrones and starting a 9th grade harlequin romance, the only English selection in their library) and build up our appetite for dinner. We also secured reservations for the next days excursion to Santa Isabela island.

We knew we wanted to eat seafood for dinner, being the specialty of the region, and so after happy hour at El Jardin, we walked to Cafe del Mar, where we shared a plate of octopus, shrimp, and fish, washed down with a small and large beer. Very good, and smoky from the open flame, but the lunch ceviche still reined supreme.